Farlanders

Farlanders is yet another sim management style of game set on Mars. I am not complaining, I love stuff like this as I have always been interested in Mars. Anyway, there are so many games about terraforming Mars, setting up a base on Mars and so on that I think Mars sim games could actually be their very own genre and I personally would love that.

Mars For The People

The premise of Farlanders is that mankind has finally arrived on Mars and you are in charge of building and developing this settlement. The thing here is that while you want the basics, your goal is to make it so that your settlement thrives on Mars.

This way they are happy, productive and they will not want to leave and head to another settlement! One really cool thing is that there are ancient Martian artifacts that you can find which adds a bit more of a sci-fi element to the game which I like.

Developing Mars

The gameplay of Farlanders is pretty interesting in that it is turn based when it comes to building your dream version of Mars. You will need stuff like water pumps so there is water, solar panels so you have electricity and so on. You also need to have your cables organized so that people and important buildings can get the utilities that they need. You will also have to mine of Mars to find minerals so that you have the right materials to keep on building.

Turning The Red Planet Green

A huge part of making life sustainable on Mars is terraforming the planet and Farlanders has one of the most interesting terraforming systems I have seen as it is kind of like a puzzle game. You have to move these tiles over the Martian landscape and select how you want to terraform them. You cannot just put stuff where you want. For example, if you want to make a long term water source you need to put a water tile into a canyon and you have a water reservoir. The thing is, if you do not drop this in a canyon, that water tile will turn to ice! You also have to contend with the extreme Martian weather too such as dangerous sandstorms and the freezing season.

Didn’t My Dad Play This?

I love the art style of Farlanders. It has a retro PC game look and it looks like something my dad would have had a great time playing on our old Packard Bell PC back in the 90s. While it does have a retro style to it, I think the game has a great deal of charm and in all, I really do like the way that this looks.

If you are someone who likes sim games, strategy games, and sci-fi, Farlanders is a game that is going to be right up your street.

Pros:

• I love the idea of building Mars from the ground up
• The retro style to the visuals are really cool
• There are also puzzle aspects to the game
• I like how there are ancient Martian artifacts to find

Cons:

• Games like this do usually have a learning curve
• There is still no set in stone release date